A Hogwarts Cinderella
by Tiger Lily21
Summary: Lily and James met at a ball. Lily did a Cinderella on James and left behind only a shoe. But because he didn't know it was her, James puts it on the wrong girl. Of course, since this is Hogwarts, you can always fix a mistake. Epilogue added.
1. Chapter One

A Hogwarts Cinderella  
Tiger Lily21 (annegirl13@earthlink.net)  
  
Summary - In his third year at Hogwarts, James Potter meets a mysterious young lady at the Christmas Ball. But before he can catch her name, she runs away, leaving behind only a shoe that he mistakenly gives to the wrong girl. Three years later, their paths cross again. Can they find a way to live happily ever after?  
  
Disclaimer - This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers, including, but not limited to, Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and now copyright or trademark infringement is intended.  
  
Author's Note: This chapter has recently been beta'd and so I am resubmitting it because I think it's a lot better now. Read and enjoy! -Tiger Lily  
  
Chapter One  
  
Lily Evans nervously smoothed her dark red hair.  
  
"Remus, I'm not sure I can do this!" she said.  
  
Her friend, Remus Lupin, looked her up and down. "Lily, you look like a dream come true! You're a spitting image of that portrait of Lady Gryffindor!"  
  
Lily looked in the mirror again. Donned in her red and gold ball gown, Remus was right.  
  
"Now," he continued. "Go to the ball and have fun. Just remember to be back by midnight so your jewelry won't disappear in front of your partner."  
  
Lily smiled and hugged her friend. "Thanks, Remus," she said. "I feel like Cinderella in this dress."  
  
Remus laughed. "Am I your Fairy Godfather?" he asked.  
  
"Yes!" cried Lily. She pecked him on the cheek, and left the Gryffindor common room.  
  
She hadn't really planned on going to the ball. Not until Rose Thompson had bet her ten Galleons that she couldn't go and be the envy of every girl at the ball. Lily had accepted, of course. Ten Galleons would be enough money to buy Christmas presents for all her friends and family.  
  
"The teachers have outdone themselves this year," she thought as she entered the Great Hall. It had been beautifully decorated with the usual dozen trees and holly. Snow was falling from the enchanted ceiling. It landed, leaving drifts that covered the dance floor. Every once in a while one of the teachers would flick his or her wand, sending a drift flying towards a wall. As Lily looked around she saw that the trees were decorated, not with lights, but with real fairies. She walked over to a corner table and sat down, unaware that everyone was watching her.  
  
"May I have this dance?"  
  
Severus Snape was standing before her. She couldn't tell what his costume was supposed to be, but it consisted of some sort of green and silver material, embroidered with snakes. And on his chest, a silver pin in the form of a serpent, the symbol of Slytherin.  
  
"Is it proper for us to dance, when you are from Slytherin while I am a lady of Gryffindor?" Lily asked, trying to sound regal, yet polite.  
  
Trying to sound regal and yet not like she was telling him to leave her  
  
alone she asked, " Is it proper for us to dance, since you are from  
  
Slytherin while I am the lady of Gryffindor house?"  
  
But he couldn't be dissuaded. "With a vision such as yourself, I can make an exception," he drawled as he grabbed her hands and dragged her onto the dance floor.  
  
"Let me go!" she said through gritted teeth. But Snape didn't let go. Instead, he began whirling her around so fast that the room became a blur. Despite this, Lily could tell that everyone in the room was watching them.  
  
At last, she managed to free her hands from his. Snape went whirling off and landed in the punch bowl, which fell to the floor with a loud clang!  
  
Everyone roared with laughter, and Lily stood in the middle of the room, waiting for it to stop spinning.  
  
"May I have this dance, Lady Gryffindor, or will you throw me in the punch bowl, too?"  
  
Lily turned to see James Potter - the boy she'd had an enormous crush on the last two of her four years at Hogwarts - standing behind her. He was wearing a mask, but his messy black hair would have made him recognizable even if he had dressed as an elephant. (He wasn't, of course. Instead, he was dressed as a Gryffindor Prince: All scarlet and gold from head to toe.)  
  
"No," she said. "I won't throw you in the punch. I just did that to get rid of him." She jerked her head at Snape, who was trying and failing to climb out from under the punch bowl, which had fallen on his head.  
  
"I'd love to dance with you," she said. "Just one rule: No spinning."  
  
James laughed. He took one of her hands in his and put the other on her waist, guiding her in a slow waltz.  
  
"You have everyone in the room enchanted," he said.  
  
"Even you?" asked Lily.  
  
James smiled. "Especially me," he said. "I feel like the Prince after he found Cinderella."  
  
Delighted that she and James shared an interest in fairy tales, Lily let herself loosen up. "I think the Prince only fell in love with Cinderella because she was beautiful. Not because she was kind, or loving, or because she had a good heart. I mean, what if the ugly stepsisters hadn't been so ugly? If it was a question of beauty, he might have fallen love with one of them."  
  
"I guess you're right," said James. "But the way I tell the story, the Prince fell in love with Cinderella because she made all the other girls in the room look ordinary, while she just glowed with an inner light. And when he talked to her, he found that she was funny and interesting, and that she had a mind of her own. And he also found out that he liked those things in a girl."  
  
Lily knew what he was trying to say. He was trying to say that he liked her, but he didn't know how to say it directly. This, she decided, was the perfect opportunity to tell him how she felt.  
  
"And I think," she said, "that when Cinderella looked at the Prince, when he came to let her try on the glass slipper, she realized that he loved her for herself, and that she loved him, too."  
  
"And they lived happily ever after," added James. "You'd make a good writer, you know that?"  
  
Lily blushed. "I try," she said. "But so far I've been uninspired."  
  
They stopped dancing, and James led Lily to a secluded spot. They stood against the wall, chatting.  
  
"Why not write a Cinderella story?" he suggested.  
  
"I'll try," said Lily, grinning. Her eyes sparkled behind her mask.  
  
"I'd like to read the story if you ever finish."  
  
"I have to start it first, don't I?" They both laughed, and James said:  
  
"Why don't we sit down?"  
  
"Good idea. These shoes may not be glass slippers, but they're not bunny slippers, either!"  
  
James laughed again. "Has anyone ever told you how funny you are?"  
  
Lily blushed, but didn't answer.  
  
"James!" squealed a voice. James tore his eyes from Lily to see Violet Thompson, dressed as Cleopatra, standing next to James's chair.  
  
"Let's dance."  
  
James scowled. "In case you didn't notice," he said coldly, "I was having a conversation with this young lady. You were very rude to interrupt us"  
  
Violet turned on her heel and stalked off.  
  
"Who was that?" James asked when Violet was out of earshot.  
  
"A very rude young lady," replied Lily. "Rather like one of Cinderella's stepsisters."  
  
"And who are you?" asked James.  
  
"A girl who came to a Christmas masquerade hoping to find her Prince Charming."  
  
"And did she?" asked James in a soft voice.  
  
He was leaning across the table, his face only an inch from hers. It made Lily uncomfortable. She changed the subject.  
  
"What time is it?" she asked.  
  
James looked at his watch. "Nearly midnight," he said. "Why?"  
  
Midnight! Lily thought. The spell for the jewelry isn't that strong! It'll wear off soon!  
  
"What?" she gasped. "Oh, no! I have to go!"  
  
Lily took off toward the entrance, with James close behind. "Wait!" he called out. "Who are you? How will I find you again?"  
  
Lily paused and called back: "We're in the same house! We're bound to meet up again! Goodbye!"  
  
And with that, she began again, headed toward Gryffindor Tower. Remus was waiting for her as she entered the common room.  
  
"Well," he asked. "Did you win your bet?"  
  
"Yes!" Lily gushed. "And I had the most wonderful time! I danced with James, and we talked. It was just like a fairy tale! I swear, Remus, you must've used fairy magic on the dress. That's the only way it could've happened!"  
  
"It was that great, eh?" Remus looked Lily up and down. "Just one thing," he said. "Look at your feet."  
  
"Huh?" Lily looked down. Her right shoe was missing.  
  
"Oh, no!" she groaned. "It must have fallen off when I ran out of the room. I didn't even notice."  
  
Lily sighed and went to bed. When Rose came up shortly after, she was nearly dancing in rage. "You won!" she cried. "How did you get that dress and the jewelry and."  
  
Lily whispered, " Do you really think that's the only reason people liked me? Because I was beautiful?"  
  
Rose didn't answer. Instead she motioned for Lily to come over to her trunk for her winnings.  
  
Lily collected her ten Galleons, leaving them in a purse inside her trunk. All of a sudden, the money didn't seem so important. In fact, she was beginning to think it wasn't worth it.  
  
Remus stayed in the common room until James returned at 2 A.M. He kept talking about the beautiful girl he'd met, how they'd danced, how everything clicked, in just the right way.  
  
"And when she left," James said, unaware that Remus knew how the story would end, "she lost this." James held up a small dress shoe.  
  
Remus smiled. "A Hogwarts Cinderella," he said. "Who would've thought?" 


	2. Chapter Two

A Hogwarts Cinderella

By: Tiger Lily

Chapter Two

Author's Note: I would like to thank Jeanne, bombshell, Agloechen, and kuro-tenshi_2nd for their kind reviews on chapter one. (To Agloechen: I tried to leave you something on your website but I don't speak German.Thanks!) For future reference, if you want a personal thank you and you leave an anonymous review please include your email address so I can thank you. If you leave a signed review I will either email you or send you a review on one of your stories. If I can't do either I will thank you at the top of the next chapter. Thanks again!

" James! Earth to James! Do you copy? Helloooooo?" 

Sirius Black waggled his hand in front of James Potter's face.

"Huh? What?" exclaimed James, " Oh, it's you Sirius.What's going on?" 

Sirius groaned. " James, you haven't been yourself since the ball. That was nearly two weeks ago! What'd that girl do to you? Brainwash you?" 

"I dunno," said James with a sigh, " It's just that that girl was the only girl I've ever been able to have a normal converstation with. She didn't chatter about how cute I was or force me to dance with her or blab on and on about make-up! We just talked like normal human beings. And now all I have left is this darn shoe! Why is everything that girl does like a fairy tale?"

Sirius looked at his friend sympathetically. 

"Who do you think it was? I mean, there aren't that many redheads in Gryffindor. You try the shoe on everyone of 'em and it's bound to fit one of them. Then, BAM, you have your girl and you live happily ever after! How hard could it be?" 

James nodded. He didn't want to tell Sirius but he was thinking, " What if the shoe fits more than one girl? And, even worse, what if I put it on the wrong girl?" 

By the next week James had made a list of all the girls who could have possibly been Lady Gryffindor. Then he narrowed it down to the three girls who were most likely to be the one he was looking for. They were: Violet Thompson, Rose Thompson, and 'Remus's friend who's name I don't know'. (The latter being, of course, Lily.) She was the one he was looking for but James, of course, didn't know that.

"Attention people! I have an announcement to make!" 

Every head in the common room turned towards James, who was standing on a table shouting. 

"On the night of the ball," said James, lowering his voice now that he had everyone's attention, " I met a very nice girl who looked like a carbon copy of hte portrait of Lady Gryffindor. I'm sure you've all seen it. Around midnight this girl ran out of the Great Hall leaving behind only this shoe. I found it and I have narrowed the list down to three girls who it could possibly fit. The girl whose foot fits the shoe will become my girlfriend, if she wants to be. Would Rose Thompson, Violet Thompson and, uh, Remus's friend with the red hair please step forward and sit down?" 

The three girls stepped forward. Lily tried to be first in line but Violet pushed her out of the way. 

Rose's foot fit the shoe but when James asked her to be his girlfriend she giggled and whispered to him, loud enough for everyone to hear, that she was going out with Gilderoy Lockhart, a fifth year Hufflepuff boy who was rumored to be almost as handsome as James and twice as conceited. 

Violet's foot didn't quite fit but she shoved it in before James could notice and pulled it off as he got down on one knee (You know like men do when they're proposing) and said, "Violet Thompson, I would be honored if you would be my girlfirend." 

Violet shot Lily a mean, gloating look and said in a sugary-sweet voice, "Of course, Jamesie Whamesie!" 

James took her hand in his and kissed her on the cheek. Lily ran out of the common room in tears, Remus hot on her trail.

"Lily, what's wrong? What's the matter?" 

Remus caught up with Lily in the library.

"H...he d..doesn't even kn...know my name!" wailed Lily," He d...didn't even glance my way!"

Remus pulled Lily into a brotherly hug. "Lily, Lily, Lily, " he said, " If you want him to notice you you have to take charge of your life. You can't leave everything to Fate, that's not how it works. Unless you help James realize that you are Lady Gryffindor and not Violet, she'll win. "

Lily just buried her face in his chest. 

"I can't do it," she whispered, " He wouldn't look at me if I was dying! He's too enamored by who he thinks she is! Me!" 

Remus rocked her back and forth like a baby. "We'll figure out something, Lily Flower," he whispered, "I promise." 

"James, you idiot," he thought," When will you learn that Lily is the one for you? When will you learn to see with your heart and not your head? Why are you breaking Lily's heart?" 

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Isn't it wonderful, Lily?" gushed Rose when Lily entered the room later that night.

"Isn't what wonderful?" asked Lily, as if she didn't know.

"Violet is going out with James Potter, the most popular boy in school!" squealed Rose, "Aren't you happy for her?" 

"Um," said Lily.

"Of course she isn't.," snapped Violet, " Because she knows that she was Lady Gryffindor and James just put the shoe on the wrong girl's foot!" 

"Huh?" asked Rose (she's a little dense if you know what I mean), " But, sis, I thought you were that Lady Gryffindor person. How do you know it was Lily?"

"Because, halfwit, I saw her at the ball!" yelled Violet, " I was dressed as Cleopatra and Lily was dressed as Lady Gryffindor! That's why she won the bet the two of you had!" 

"Oh," said Rose, "Well then we should tell James he got the wrong girl, shouldn't we? I mean, we wouldn't want him to have the wrong impression of you." 

"Are you kidding?" yelled Violet, "Don't you see? This is my chance to get the boy of my dreams and keep him plus make our family stinking filthy rich! Get it through your thick skull!" 

"Oh," said Rose, "I get it. It's like that fairy tale you're always reading, Lily, Cinderellie or something like that." 

"Cinderella," said Lily quietly.

"Yes, that one, " said Rose, " And in it the pretty girl gets the handsome guy. Just like Violet and James."

"Whatever you say," said Lily, too tired to contradict her. She rolled over, closed the hangings on her bed, and was soon asleep, dreaming about James dropping Violet like a hot potato and realizing he was really in love with her.


	3. Chapter Three

A Hogwarts Cinderella

By: Tiger Lily21 

Chapter Three

*~*~*Three Years Later*~*~*

Author's Note: Thanks so much to the following anonymous reviewers: catblack35, flossie, and Bombshell for their reviews on chapter two! Thanks a bunch! And thanks to all the reviewers who I already thanked personally. 28 reviews! You guys are the best! 

"Lily! Lily Evans! Over here!" 

Lily, now seventeen, ran over to where Remus stood. 

Remus circled her like a vulture.

"If you're quite finished I'd like to get on the train before it leaves in fifteen minutes!" said Lily, getting annoyed with his antics.

"Sorry, Lily," he said, "It's just that you look... different.What happened to you?"

It was true, she did look different. For one thing she was taller, towering over Remus by at least four inches. (A/N: I don't know metric so I didn't use it.) Her red hair, which had previously reached just above her waist, now hung to her shoulders. She wore a jean skirt, a short-sleveed pale green blouse, and a simple chain and locket. 

"What'd you do to yourself?"

"Oh, you mean my hair?" asked Lily.

"Uh, yeah," said Remus," Why'd you cut it?"

"I wanted to," said Lily breezily, " I decided that I needed a change. Now can we go?"

Remus grinned. "Well, Miss Hogwarts Cinderella, you may go but I must say that if you are trying to impress Prince Charming aka James, with your new look it'll work! Bye!" He then ran through the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10 before Lily could slap him. 

Lily ran after Remus. As she reached the other side of the barrier she bumped into someone. Her trunk popped open and several books fell out. 

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed. 

" It's okay," said the person she'd bumped, "It was my fault. I'm trying to find the Head Girl but I don't know what she looks like." 

"Well you found her," said Lily, "I'm the Head Girl. Lily Evans at your service." 

The boy helped her up. Lily took one look at his face and nearly let go of his hand. It was James Potter. 

"Well don't just stand there goggling!" said James, "Let's pick up your stuff and go before the train leaves in exactly two minutes." 

Lily immediately began picking up books. She shoved them all back into her trunk and locked it. When she straightened up she realized that James was still holding one of her books. 

"Hey! Give that back!" she said.

James playfully held the book out of her reach and read the inscription on the inside front cover. 

"To my darling Lily Flower," he read, " I hope that the stories in this book will open your imagination to the impossible. But don't forget reality. You must learn to live in both worlds. Share these tales with everyone around you and don't forget that I love you. Love, Daddy." 

"Now may I have my book back so we can go?" asked Lily, torn between anger and sadness at the memories the inscription brought to her mind. 

"Here," said James, " I just wanted to look at it. I've never read those fairy tales before. Let's go!"

He took his trolley and Lily's and took off. Lily ran behind him. They managed to get on the train just as it was leaving.

"We have to get to the Heads' compartment to tell the prefects what to do," said Lily, " Come on!"

They ran to the compartment and arrived there just as the last prefects filed in.

" All right, what are we supposed to be doing?" asked a Slytherin fifth year who looked remarkably like a twisted version of Sirius Black.

James had a blank look on his face. Lily remembered that he had never been a prefect so she took charge.

" You'll be patrolling the corridors every few minutes, just to make sure no one is causing trouble," she explained.

"Oh, and what will you two be doing?" asked the Slytherin.

"James and I will be discussing ideas for activities this year," said Lily, "but we'll take our turns patrollling the corridors. We won't just sit around on our bums." 

Most people laughed at that.

Remus raised his hand. "When will Prefect meetings be?" he asked. 

Lily and James exchanged looks. They would have to schedule the meetings around Remus's werewolf transformations.

"Uh,we'll work that out," said Lily, "Now, unless someone else has a question let's get to work." 

The prefects filed out of the compartment and Lily sat down.James took the seat next to her.

"Thanks for taking charge," said James. 

"It was nothing," said Lily, blushing slightly. 

James picked up the book of Grimms' fairy tales that Lily had let drop to the floor and gave it to her.

"Are these any good?" he asked, "I've never read them before."

Lily burst out laughing. "You've never read the Brothers Grimm?" she asked in surprise.

James hung his head. "My dad doesn't approve of fairy tales. He says they're for babies and that I shouldn't waste my time reading them over and over and over again." 

"Well you have to read Grimm!" said Lily, " They're the classics! Every fairy tale lover starts with these! Here, borrow my book." She handed him the book.

James looked at the book incredulously, as if it might explode when he opened it. "But, your dad gave it to you," he said. 

"Yes, but he also told me to share the stories with other people," said Lily, "So take it. Just make sure you give it back when you're done." 

"Okay," said James,now beaming. "Okay, thanks! Thanks a lot." 

"You're welcome," said Lily, "But really, it was nothing." 

For a while there was silence in the compartment as James read the book and Lily worked on a story she was writing. (A retelling of Cinderella .)

Then the door flew open. 

"James! Hide me!" squealed Sirius Black, dodging behind a seat. 

"What happened?" asked Lily just as James asked, "What did you do this time?" 

After fifteen minutes had passed Sirius came out from behind the seat. 

"I played a prank on Snape," he explained, " And my wretched little Slytherin Prefect brother found me and was chasing me up and down the train, trying to catch me. So I hid in here. By the way, Jamesie, Violet is looking for you." 

James blushed to the roots of his hair. "Oh," he said, "Um, tell her I'm in here."

Lily looked from James to Sirius and back again, wondering which question to ask first. At last she decided to start with Sirius.

"You have a brother?" she asked.

Sirius looked at her like he didn't know who she was then said," Um, yeah,\. Regelus. Nasty little teacher's pet. Mum loves him sooo much. She told me to use him as a model because he's in Slytherin, just like the rest of the family. I'm the black sheep in the ' Most Ancient and Noble House of Black'. No pun intended. Who are you?" 

"Lily Evans," said Lily, " I'm Remus's friend." 

"Oh," said Sirius.

Lily turned to James. "If you want to have some private time with Violet I understand. I'll leave for a while. Patrol the corridors and the like." 

"No, no," said James, "You don't have to leave. Stay. I'll need some help with Violet. She doesn't like fairy tales too much."

"Oh," said Lily, "Well, if you want me to I'll stay. I just thought..." 

"Thought I might want to be alone with Violet so I can snog her?" completed James. 

"Uh, yeah," said Lily. 

"Well, actually we don't do too much kissing anymore," said James.

"You don't kiss your own girlfriend?" asked Lily.

"Can we change the subject?" asked James, "Violet's a bit of an uncomfy topic for me right now." 

Lily didn't say anything but she thought, "Did they break up? Will they break up soon? Oh please let them break up soon!" 

Violet entered the compartment a minute later. 

"Jamesie!" she squealed, " I've missed you sooooo much!" 

James tried to peel her off him as he said," Uh, yeah. I missed you too, Violet."

Violet would not be removed. At last James gave up and let her sit on his lap. 

"Jamesie, why is Evans in here?" she asked, noticing Lily for the first time. 

"She's Head Girl," explained James. 

"Oh, well can't you tell her to get out?" Violet whined. "I want to be alone with my Jamesie."

"Don't call me Jamesie," said James through gritted teeth," And Lily stays. She's my friend and she has every right to be in here."

Violet looked at him, her eyes wide and pleading. "But darling! How can we have our private time together with her in here? Make her leave!" 

Lily hid behind her notebook, scribbling furiously and trying to imagine that she was invisible.

"I'm not here," she said, " Just imagine I'm not here."

Violet smiled and kissed James.Lily noticed, with a smile, that James didn't seem to enjoy it much. 

An hour later Violet had slackened off on James. He was reading the book of Grimms' fairy tales again. 

" What are you reading?" asked Violet, setting her copy of Witch Weekly aside.

"It's a book of fairy tales," said James," Lily's letting me borrow it."

"Why do you still read that junk?" asked Violet, clearly disgusted.

"It isn't junk, as I've told you before. They are wonderful stories that I happen to like.And they're a lot better than your stupid magazines any day." 

"Look James, you're seventeen, not seven. You shouldn't be reading kiddy stuff anymore! All that book will do is fill your head with more stupid dreams that you know will never come true. Burn it." 

"No! Violet, this is Lily's book! And I won't burn it or give it back to her until I'm finished with it! So leave me alone!"

Violet glared at Lily. "This is your doing, Evans," she said," You gave him the book. If he starts mooning about Cinder-what's-her-face again I'm blaming you. Got it?"

" Shut up, Violet," said Lily quietly. 

Amazingly Violet obeyed. She rolled her eyes and picked up her magazine again. Lily went back to writing. 

Suddenly a note hit her in the forehead. It was from James.

Lily-

I'm really sorry about everything Violet said to you. 

She's changed since the ball three years ago.

At the ball she seemed to be as obsessed with Cinderella as I am. 

She was funny, interesting, sweet, pretty, and great to talk to. 

But now Violet is scorning the fairy tales.

She's rude, mean, and sarcastic.

Did she get a personality transplant or something?

I don't know why I'm telling you this. 

I guess I just need to tell someone and you're the only person I can tell right now.

Thanks for listening,er, reading.

I hope we can talk again soon.

Your friend,

James Potter

Lily smiled at James and wrote a reply on the back of the note.

Dear James,

Did you ever consider that you might have put the shoe on the wrong girl's foot?

Maybe Lady Gryffindor is still out there, waiting for you to realize you made a mistake.

Deal with Violet he best you can and look for Lady Gryffindor .

If you find her, sorry, when you find her, tell her how sorry you are about yuor mistake and ask her to be your girlfriend.

You never know what might happen.

But no matter what happens I'll be here to talk to you. That's what friends are for. 

Your friend,

Lily

She threw the note at him. He read it and smiled at her. 


	4. Chapter Four

_A Hogwarts Cinderella_

By: Tiger Lily21

Chapter 4

Author's Note: Thanks to the following reviewers who sent anonymous reviews or don't have an email address on ff.net: Chewy1, DLster,moon-spirit (Note to Moon-spirit: Thanks for the review on Once Upon A Time too I'll try to update that soon) and Legolassdiosa. (Note: Thanks! I'll see you in school tomorrow. Did you get my review?) Thanks a bunch!

********************

"Hee-re we are!" sang out Sirius as the train pulled into Hogsmeade station.

"Jamesie!Come on, we have to get a carriage together!" whined Violet. 

Lily and James exchanged looks of utter disgust.

"Uh, I can't Vi," said James quickly, "I have to get all the first years to the right place first. Head Boy duties, you know. Go ahead and I'll catch up to you later."

Violet put on a pouting look. "Please, Jamesie! Evans can deal with the first years! You and I need to talk, sweetheart.We didn't say hardly anything on the way here!" 

"Go if you want," said Lily, " I can handle the first years." 

James looked uncomfortable but Violet dragged him out before he could protest.

Lily sent all the first years off with Hagrid then climbed into the last carriage. 

"Hi!" said a voice.

Lily couldn't see who it was in the dim carriage until he leaned forward. 

It was James.

"Um, hi," she said. Then, unable to keep her mouth under control, she blurted,"What are you doing here?" 

James had that same uncomfortable look on his face that he had worn on the train. 

"I ditched Violet and waited for you," he said, "We need to talk. It's important." 

"What is it?" asked Lily.

" Violet has decided that you and I don't need to talk anymore than is absolutely necessary," said James, " She's ordering me, basically, not to talk to you for anymore than fifteen minutes a day. And I have to obey her." 

"Why?" asked Lily, her typical fiery temper taking control of her, "Why do you have to obey her? Are you under a curse that makes you obey her? Or are you just a wimp?" 

"WIMP!" yelled James, "I'm no wimp!" 

"THEN WHY ARE YOU LETTING A STUPID GIRL CONTROL YOUR SOCIAL LIFE?" Lily shouted back.

"BECAUSE I CARE ABOUT YOU!" shouted James. 

"What does that mean?" asked Lily, flabbergasted.

"It means that Violet is...is threatening you," said James quietly. 

"WHAT?!?!" screamed Lily, now fuming again, this time at Violet.

"You heard me," said James, "She is threatening to harm you if I don't obey. And she has spies everywhere. She won't hesitate to carry out her threat."

"Oh James!" cried Lily,"That's awful! Report her to Dumbledore! She'll be expelled and I'll be safe." 

James shook his head. "I told you, she has spies," he said monotonously. "Robots just waiting to do her bidding. They'd get you even if she didn't. So you see, I have to obey her." 

Lily scowled. "Well, you're still a wimp. Didn't you try to reason with her at all?" 

"I tried. Believe me I tried," said James, "Violet won't be reasoned with. It's her or nothing. I had no choice." 

Lily felt her temper rising again. She struggled to keep from shouting as she said, "Nothing would have ridded you of that evil ditz." 

James was looking at Lily helplessly. She felt her heart soften towards him. It's hard, after all, to be mad at someone you love. 

"I'm sorry," she said, "I lost my temper. It's just that Violet is being so unfair. Why don't you dump her?" 

"I can't," said James, "She's Lady Gryffindor. She's my Cinderella." 

"HA!" exclaimed Lily, " Your Cinderella my big toe. She's a jerk, James. An evil jerk." 

" Lily, please. Try to understand." James's hazel eyes were pleading at her to do as he said. "All I want is to be your friend. Violet is interfereing and there is nothing I can do about her right now. We'll work something out. Until then, leave me alone." 

Lily could feel tears threatening to spill over her cheeks. She knew if she said anything she'd cry so she nodded to show him she understood. Then she turned her face away from his and stared out the window as the carriage neared the school. 

*********************

The feast that night was, as always, magnificent. But to Lily all the food tasted like sawdust in her mouth. Violet had been waiting for James at the front door when the carriage arrived and had immediately swept away on his arm. 

Now Violet sat across from Lily, smirking like there was no tomorrow.

"Lily, we need to talk later," she said sweetly."It's about James and me. I'm sure you understand.So we'll talk?" 

"Sure," Lily said sarcastically, " We'll talk about whatever you want. It's not like I have anything else to do tonight." 

"Good, " cooed Violet. 

After the feast Lily and Violet headed immediatley for the seventh year girls' dormitory.

"Now Lily," said Violet, " I know James has probably already told you that I'm going to make sure you two don't talk for more than fifteen minutes a day. If you didn't believe him, I'll tell you myself. If you and James talk for more than fifteen minutes a day I will make sure you are miserable to the end of your days."

Lily, her face buried in a pillow,muttered, " Fine. Whatever you say. It's not like we'll ever be anything but friends anyways so go ahead. You've won." 

Violet's face froze halfway into a smirk. "No," she said, "I haven't won yet. You see, you could plan another ball and tell James that I'm a fraud. I'm sure he'd believe you.Why don't you go and start planning it now?" 

Lily lifted her face from the pillow and stared at Violet. 

"What's the catch?" she asked, not trusting Violet one little bit. 

"Oh, nothing," said Violet, "Except that I have one of the shoes. And soon I'll get the dress and the other shoe from you."

"Well whoopdeedoo!" said Lily sarcastically. "I'm _sooo_ scared."

"You should be," said Violet. 

And with that she pulled the hangings on her bed closed, leaving Lily to her own thoughts.

********************

A/N: This is a note to all readers. First off, thanks for all the reviews! Forty-six! That's more than I've ever had before! Please, please continue reading and reviewing this story! I love you all! 

Just one thing. I am currently in school and don't have much time to write.So don't expect too much from me for a while. Bye. 

Toodles! 

--Tiger Lily21


	5. Chapter Five

A Hogwarts Cinderella

By: Tiger Lily21

Chapter Five

Author's note: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter.You guys are the best, as I've said before. If you want me to email you when I update this story please send my your pen name and email address and I will put your name on my list. 

But for now, enjoy the chapter! Toodles!

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The next morning Lily woke up late. The other girls were already gone. Hurriedly Lily dressed and ran down to breakfast. 

"Morning Lily!" sang out Remus.

"And why are we so cheerful this morning?" asked Lily sarcastically.

" I am, why aren't you?" asked Remus.

"Violet," said Lily simply.

"No need to worry about her," said Remus breezily, "James took care of her. For a while anyways." 

"Huh?" asked Lily.

" Ask him yourself," said Remus and went back to his breakfast.

As if on cue James sat down next to Lily, holding a large birdcage.

"What's in there?" asked Lily.

"You mean Who's in there?' "said James with a smile.

"You didn't!" exclaimed Lily. 

" I did," said James, grinning and obviously quite proud of himself. 

With a flourish he pulled the cover off the cage to reveal a violently purple parrot.

"Awwwk! Evans! Cracker! Cracker!" squawked the parrot, making no sense at all. 

Lily burst out laughing. "H-how d-did you d-do that?" she gasped between gales of laughter.

"Practice," said James smugly. 

"Awwk! Fifteen! Fifteen! Getcha ! Getcha!" squawked Violet the parrot.

"Not yet you birdbrain!" said James, covering the cage once more.

"I thought we'd leave her like this for a while," he said, "Just to teach her a lesson." 

"It would be better if you'd changed her into a bug and squished her," thought Lily. 

But all she said was, " Will it really do any good to have her squawking at us 24/7? What were you thinking?"

"She'll stay in my dormitory," said James quickly, " And this way she won't bother us so we can talk." 

"Uh, one problem genius," said Lily. " Weren't you the one telling me all about how Violet has spies all over just yesterday? Did that occur to you when you did this?" She motioned at the cage.

"Uh,well, uh, no but... I, see..." James trailed off foolishly. "Okay, so I wasn't thinking when I transfigured her. But I don't know how to change her back yet!" 

"Out! Out!Out!" squawked Violet from inside the covered cage. 

"I don't know what she means but we have Charms in fifteen minutes. We'd better get going," said Lily.

********************

"Thompson, Rose!" 

Professor Flitwick was calling roll.

"Here!" said Rose.

"Thompson, Violet!" 

No answer. 

"Ms. Thompson?" 

Still no answer.

"Awwk! Here! Present! Accounted for! Cracker! Awwk!" 

"Good," said Professor Flitwick. 

"Tiller, Ab-" 

Professor Flitwick stopped, looked around and spotted Violet the parrot in the cage on James's desk. 

"Mr. Potter!" he squeaked. " What have you done to Ms. Thompson?" 

" I transfigured her into a parrot, sir," said James. "I think she looks better this way, don't you?" 

"Ye- No! Change her back!" 

"I can't," said James breezily. "We haven't learned that yet." 

"Twenty points from Gryffindor!" said Professor Flitwick, now clearly angry. 

Violet continued to shock the teachers with her new looks and rude manners. (Well, ruder I guess.) Professor McGonagall took a further twenty points from Gryffindor but gave James ten back for the complicated transfiguration he'd done. She also gave him a detention.

In Potions Violet squawked out, "Professor! Professor! Kissy-kissy! Slappy-slappy!" 

Professor Dibrom, thinking it was James who'd said it (he could do a very good imitation of a parrot) took fifty points from Gryffindor and gave him two more detentions. 

*********************

As Lily had pointed out that morning, Violet's spies were under orders to watch Lily's every move. They were just waiting to pounce on her if she set so much as a toe inside the seventh-year girls' dormitory. So, when bedtime rolled around, Lily had a problem. 

"Where am I going to sleep?" she asked Remus.

James,who was sitting nearby, said quickly, " You can have my bed." 

Remus looked at James strangely but said nothing.

"Uh, no thanks," said Lily. "I'll just sleep on the couch down here." 

"As you wish," said James. But he watched her very closely as she Summoned blankets and a pillow from her dormitory.

The next morning Lily woke up not knowing where she was. She sat up and looked around. A loud snore from her right made her look in that direction. Sirius Black was sleeping in the bed next to hers. She was in the boys' dormitory.

"Auuuugh!" she cried and ran out of the room and down the stairs to the common room. 

James Potter was asleep on the couch under her blanket, his messy-haired head on her pillow.

"Oh no," she groaned as the full severity of the situation. James had switched places with her, giving her his bed and sleeping on the couch instead. 

"James," she whispered, leaning over to whisper in his ear. "It's time to wake up. Wake up!" 

James just rolled over and gave a loud snore. 

She shook him gently. 

"I...love... you... Lady..." he mumbled in his sleep.

"Oh, come on James!" cried Lily, sad for a reason she couldn't figure out. "Wake up, you dolt!" 

"That won't work," said a voice on the stairs behind her. 

Lily turned to see Remus, looking tired and tousle-haired, sitting on the stairs. 

"Well then what will work?" asked Lily.

" You could kiss him," he said with a grin.

"EEEEEWWWWW!" cried Lily. "I can't kiss him!" 

"Hit him with a pillow then," said Remus.

Lily yanked the pillow out from under James's head and hit him in the face with it.

It didn't work.

"You'll have to kiss him," said Remus. 

"Oh fine," sighed Lily. "I'll kiss him but I'm running away as soon as I do. And don't you dare tell him I did it!" 

"Why won't you let James know how you feel?" asked Remus. 

"I can't," said Lily. "Violet's spies are out to get me and anyways I want to do this my own way. Close your eyes."

Remus obediently covered his eyes. Lily bent over and kissed James gently on the lips. A tingling sensation flowed through her, shocking hre. she wrenched her lips away and ran out of the common room.

A/N: Well, Lily finally kissed James. But James hasn't kissed Lily yet. And what about Violet? Will she ever become a human again? (Unfortunately, yes, but she'll stay a parrot for at least the next chapter.) So, did you like this chapter? Review and tell me what you thought. Toodles!

--Tiger Lily21


	6. Chapter Six

A Hogwarts Cinderella

By Tiger Lily21

Chapter 6

_A/N: Yes, it's the long- awaited chapter six! Finally! Just to let you know, if something in this doesn't make sense feel free to tell me and I will explain it as best I can. But Lily and James are kind of writing this themselves now and I just type so we'll have to see if I even get it! Read on!_

_****************************************************************************************************_

_From Chapter Five: _

_"You'll have to kiss him," said Remus. _

_"Oh fine," sighed Lily. "I'll kiss him but I'm running away as soon as I do. And don't you dare tell him I did it!" _

_"Why won't you let James know how you feel?" asked Remus. _

_"I can't," said Lily. "Violet's spies are out to get me and anyways I want to do this my own way. Close your eyes."_

_Remus obediently covered his eyes. Lily bent over and kissed James gently on the lips. A tingling sensation flowed through her, shocking her. She wrenched her lips away and ran out of the common room._

Chapter Six

"Who kissed me?" asked James groggily as he sat up on the couch. 

He looked around but the only person he saw was Remus, sitting on the stairs and trying to keep a straight face. 

"Not me," said Remus. "That's sick!" 

"Well I know you wouldn't," said James, now grumpy. "What I want to know is who did." 

"I just got down here," said Remus. "Who do you think it was?" 

"Evans!Evans!Evans!" squwacked Violet the parrot. 

"You make even less sense when you're a parrot than you do when you're not," remarked Remust to the parrot. 

"Awwk! Definistrate! Definistrate! Awwk!Awwk!" squwacked Violet. 

"Huh?" asked James. 

" She wants to throw me out a window," explained Remus. "Now who do you think kissed you?" 

"Lady Gryffindor?" said James uncertainly. 

"It's a possibility," said Remus. 

"Yeah, well I wish it was a certainty," said James."If I knew who Lady Gryffindor was I could tell her how much I love her." 

Remus looked thoughtful. "James," he asked," Why do you love her?"

"She's beautiful," answered James almost immediately.

"Are you sure?'' asked Remus. "Are you sure you love her because she's beautiful and that she's not beautiful because you love her?" 

"I have no idea what you just said," said James. "Could you be more specific?" 

Remus sighed. This could take a while. 

"James," he said patiently, " You didn't spend enough time with Lady Gryffindor to see how beautiful she was. And if you did you never noticed. You just paid attention to her other good qualities. Like how she made you laugh and how you could talk to her so easily. And how overall wonderful she was. But I want to know,now that you've come to your senses about Violet, do you love Lady Gryffindor because she's beautiful and wonderful or is she that way to you because you love her?" 

"Remus," said James, clearly confused," I know you are wise beyond your years but sometimes you really make no sense whatsoever." 

"Evans!Evans!Cracker!" squwacked Violet. 

That jolted James's memory. Lily. He had carried her up to his bed and slept on the couch last night.

"Where's Lily?" he asked Remus. 

" I think she went to the library," said Remus. 

James ran out of the common room, headed for the library. 

"Well," thought Remus, "maybe Lily can explain it to him." 

Lily wasn't in the library. Or the Great Hall. Or anywhere else James checked in the castle. But at last he found her on the grounds by the lake. 

"Morning James," she sang out. 

James tried to walk at a leisurely pace and not run to her to ask her if she could explain Remus's confusing words. 

"Hey... Lily," he panted, reaching the tree she was sitting in.

"Is something wrong?" aske Lily, jumping out of the tree to land beside him. 

"It's nothing," said James. " but I got a nonsensical lecture from Remus this morning and I was hoping you could explain it." 

"What do I look like?The Official Remus Junk Interpreter?" 

Lily did her best to scowl but she couldn't help smiling. 

"Uh, yeah," said James. "See, he asked me if I loved Lady Gryffindor because she was beautiful or if Lady Gryffindor was beautiful because I loved her. Aren't those the same thing?" 

Lily laughed. "You silly boy!" she said. "They are complete opposites! If you love her because she's beautiful your name should be PrinceStupid. If she's beautiful because you love her then she could be ugly as sin and you wouldn't care because you can only see her transformed by your love for her. Get it now?" 

"No," said James flatly. "But it's getting clearer." 

"That's the best I can do," said Lily. "Now why don't we go get some breakfast?" 

*******************************************************************************************************************************

A month later James still didn't understand, Violet was still a parrot, and Lily was still sleeping in the common room. (She wouldn't let James give her his bed anymore.) One dy SIrius found James sitting in the common room, deep in thought.

" What's the matter with you?" he asked. 

"Nothing," siad James. "It's just that I feel so wierd about Lily lately. I don't know what it is." 

"You mind filling me in on it?'' asked Sirius, for once in his life not joking. 

"I just care about her so much," said James. "I mean, I want to turn those other girls into puddles of slime so she can have her bed back. I want to tell her all my secrets and find out hers. It's so confusing!" 

Sirius looked at his friend with a mixture of pity and concern. 

"Oh yeah," he said," You got it bad." 

"Got what?" asked James. 

"Have you ever considered that you like Lily?" asked Sirius. 

James looked stunned for a moment then slumped in his chair. 

"I... I care about her," he said. "A lot. But I love Lady Gryffindor. She's my ideal, my soulmate. I can't like Lily!" 

"Can't help you," said Sirius. "I wouldn't know where to start. I've never been in love before." 

"Neither have I," said James. "But I think it's great." 

He was remembering a tingling sensation he'd felt a month ago as someone's soft lips met his own in a kiss. 

A/N: I know it's short but it is important to the plot and it needed to be put in right away.Plus I think I promised someone a scene with Sirius so there you go.Please review. I would love to hear from you guys. Again, if this confuses you I will be happy to try and explain it for you. Toodles! --Tiger Lily 

P.S. Can we try to get the number of reviews to over 100? It would make my day! --TL

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	7. Chapter Seven

A Hogwarts Cinderella

By: Tiger Lily21

Chapter 7

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A/N: Well, this is the chapter you've all been waiting for. I hope it's long enough for all of you who wanted longer chapters. If it's not, don't complain. It was over twelve pages written out by hand. If you guys can't deal with that, tough beanie-weenies. 

By the way, thanks! 145 reviews? You people are the best! I mean, I got onto my email one day and I had forty-seven reviews out of forty-nine emails! That was really, really inspiring! I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations! 

And now… The chapter you've all been waiting for!

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The first Hogsmeade weekend was on Halloween of that year. Violet, finally made human again by Professor McGonagall, had consented to Lily's sleeping in the dormitory (under threat of expulsion) and on this particular day was playing "Alarm Clock". 

"Wake up, wake up, wake up!" she sang, sounding like she was still a parrot.

Lily pulled back the hangings of her four-poster bed and yawned. 

"What time is it?" she moaned. 

"Six-thirty!" said Rose in a sing-song voice while bouncing on her bed in excitement. "And today is a Hogsmeade weekend!" 

"I know, I planned it," moaned Lily. "Why did you wake me up to tell me about something _I _planned?" 

" Because along with that James asked me to meet him in the Astronomy Tower tonight," said Violet, idly brushing her hair. "I suspect he's going to propose." 

Lily, now fully awake, snorted. "As if," she said. "More likely he'll turn you into a Peppermint Toad and give you to Peter." 

"Shut up!" screamed Violet, clearly indicating that the conversation was over. 

Lily, smiling at her victory, pulled on a pair of jeans, a skirt and a sweater, took her notebook from the night table and left. 

(A/N: Hey, just a note. You remember how in the first chapter James told Lily she should write a retelling of Cinderella? Well she took his advice and that is why she has the notebook. Just had to clear that up! Toodles! Oh, wait! One more thing. On the weekends students are allowed to wear Muggle clothes unless it's for a Quidditch game. But there won't be any Quidditch matches in this fic. Sorry! Toodles for real now!) 

Lily wrote for a while. James wandered down around seven and, when he saw her, sat down next to her on the couch. 

"Morning James," said Lily, not looking up from her writing.

"How do you do that?" asked James. 

"Instinct," said Lily, still not looking up. 

"What are you writing?" 

" It's a retelling of Cinderella. The main character is a girl named Ariella. She tutors Prince Richard Charming until his mother fires her because she doesn't like the idea that her son is being tutored by a peasant. The rest of the story is about how she gets back to the palace, attends the ball and gets Prince Richard to realize who she is despite the fact that she looks like a noblelady instead of the normal girl he's used to. It's kind of like you and Lady Gryffindor I guess. I mean, at first he's only looking at her dress and her jewels but when he looks with his heart instead of his head herealizies that true love was right under his nose."

Lily then realized that she had unwittingly given James a big clue as to who Lady Gryffindor was and bent over her notebook again. 

"Wow," said James, "It sounds really good. Can I read it?" 

"When it's done," mumbled Lily.

" Okay," said James. Then something she'd said sparked his curiosity. " Lily," he asked, "Where'd you get the idea for that story?" 

Lily blushed. She had gotten the idea for the story when James had told her she should write a retelling of Cinderella three years ago at the ball and had been fiddling with it ever since.

"Well, to be honest, you gave it to me," she said.

" I did?" asked James, confused.

"Well yeah," said Lily. " I actually started it to teach you a lesson about Lady Gryffindor. You don't have to search the whole school for her. Just look with your heart and she'll come to you. She's probably right under your nose." 

That same big hint. Lily hoped that James would continue to be ignorant to the clues she was giving him. For some reason she felt like it wasn't time for him to find out who Lady Gryffindor was. She'd let him know when the time came. If it ever came. 

"Well, we'd better go to breakfast," said Lily. "I'll see you in Hogsmeade, okay?" 

"Okay," James said. Then he remembered something he had to do. 

"Hey Lily," he said," Meet me at the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade. I need to tell you something about Violet but I can't tell you here. She might hear." 

Lily, who had an idea as to what he was going to say,smiled and said," Okay. I'll see you then. Bye James." 

After she left James sat on the couch, waiting for Sirius, Remus, and Peter so he could tell them that they would meet at the Shrieking Shack after he ditched Violet, who would probably cling on him until they reached Hogsmeade.

"Jamesie!You waited for me!" 

Violet, adorned in purple Muggle clothes from head to toes, came down the girls' staircase and rushed at James. 

"Hi Violet," mumbled James. 

"Well let's go to breakfast," said Violet. "Then we can spend the whole day together!"

"Oh goody," said James sarcastically.

He let her drag him into the Great Hall and push him into a seat. He stared at Lily, who was laughing and chatting with Remus,and completely ignored Violet, who was talking a mile a minute. 

"So James, we're going to the Three Broomsticks and to Honeydukes and to Zonkos' for you, right? Oooh this'll be so much fun! James, are you paying attention to me?" 

James tore his gaze away from Lily and looked at Violet.

"Huh?" he asked," Oh,sorry Violet. Look, I'm supposed to spend today with the guys, But we're still on for tonight, I promise.DOn't be mad." 

"Mad?Why should I be mad?You're only ditching me, your girlfriend, for those stupid idiots you call friends. And for Evans,I suppose. Whatever happened to my fifteen-minute rule?" 

Violet jumped up so fast she nearly knocked over the table and ran out of the Great Hall. Lily smiled at James from across the table and mouthed, " Ding-dong the witch is dead!" 

"As for the fifteen-minute rule," he muttered," It won't be effective after tonight. I am not your property anymore!"

With that he stood up and moved to sit with his friends. 

Half an hour later Lily and James were at the Shrieking Shack. The others were, for some reason, unfashionably late so the other two started without them.

"So James, what did you want to tell me?" asked Lily.

"Well I,uh, I've decided that I can't stand Violet holding me under her thumb anymore so I,um, I invited her up to the Astronomy Tower tonight and I'm going to break up with her." 

"HALLELUJAH!" shouted Lily and hugged him. "You're not as dumb as I thought. Good luck!"

James, half-stupified by the hug, stammered, "Well, uh, thanks. I, uh, I guess. But Violet won't be happy." 

Lily muttered," That is the understatement of the century." 

"She'll go ballistic," said James. "And she'll probably blame you for it." 

"So what?" asked Lily, still too happy about the fact that James was finally coming to his senses, about Violet anyways,to care. "So I have to sleep in the common room for a while. So what? Turn her into a parrot again."

"I can't," James said. "McGonagall forbid the spell. It'll backfire on me if I do it again." 

" Oh well," said Lily. "Too bad. Maybe you could make her a slug." 

And with that she hugged James again and skipped down the hill just as Sirius, Remus, and Peter were coming up.

The boys found James standing on the hill, watching Lily as if he was petrified. 

"What'd she do to you?" asked Sirius. 

"She hugged me," said James vaguely. "She hugged me twice." 

"Why would she hug you?" asked Sirius. 

"I told her I'm breaking up with Violet tonight," said James.

"Finally," said Remus. "It's about time you realized she's not the one for you. No wonder Lily hugged you." 

"Yeah," muttered James, more to himself than to the others. "But what I don't get is why Iiked it so much."

Peter piped up. "Maybe you like her." 

"Yeah right," said Jaems, snapping back to reality. "Lily's a friend. Just a friend."

"If you say so," said Remus but he could tell James wasn't so sure about it. 

A/N: Hmmm. Should I stop it there? Or do you guys want more? 

Oh all right. After all, you did all send me those wonderful reviews so I guess you deserve to read about the big break-up. Read on! 

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James and Violet were sitting in the Astronomy Tower. Violet sat next to James, holding his hand and waiting for him to say something.

James cleared his throat and began the speech he'd been working on for four hours straight. 

"Violet, we've been going out for three years and lately I've been thinking that maybe I put the shoe on the wrong girl's foot that day. Lady Gryffindor was dream-come- true for me. She was smart and funny and imaginative and pretty to say the least. She loved _Cinderella. _When I talked with her it was like I was _in Cinderella _as the prince and I was falling in love with the perfect girl. But that wasn't you. Lady Gryffindor is the only girl I will ever love. And that's not you. So this is goodbye, Violet. I am no longer your slave. I can talk to Lily for as long as I want. We're friends and nothing more. I'd like to be friends with you too but I don' t think it's possible. Goodbye, Violet." 

With that he stood up and walked to the door of the tower. Violet tackled him from behind and he fell on her. She crawled out from under him and slapped his face as hard as she could. 

"Evans did this to you," she snapped. "She gave you these silly ideas, these foolish dreams of love and happiness. Well I'm here to tell you that fairy tales aren't real. Love isn't real. Evans is lying to you and you are lying to yourself. You are mine. Is that clear?" 

"No," said James, ignoring the pain in his cheek and trying to stay calm. "You're wrong Violet. Fairy tales and love are the best things in the world. Lily and I are smart enough to believe in them. You on the other hand are too ignorant to realize what I have in me for Lady Gryffindor so I won't bother to explain it to you. I belong to no one but myself." 

Violet laughed cruelly. "Foolish boy," she said frostily. " I don't care what you feel for your fairy tale princess. She doesn't exist. The only girls who exist who are worthy of you are my sister and myself. Pick one of us or suffer the consequences."

James matched her tone as he said, "Shut up you sad, sad excuse for a human being. This is the end. Goodbye." 

He stood up and this time Violet let him go. But as he walked calmly down the stairs she screamed," YOU WILL PAY POTTER! I'LL MAKE SURE YOU PAY! AND EVANS WILL PAY TOO! THIS IS HER DOING, I KNOW IT! YOU ARE MINE, POTTER!"

James turned and said silkily," Do what you want with me but leave Lily out of it. Everything I told you tonight was my idea. Lily had nothing to do with this. You will leave her alone." 

Violet zoomed past him down the stairs. James began to run, knowing that she had not heard a word he'd just said and that she was heading for the library, where Lily was. 

Lily was absorbed in _Beauty _ by Robin McKinley when Violet reached her. Suddenly the book was snatched from her hands. Lily could only watch as Violet ripped out the pages of the book, screaming all the while, "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, EVANS! JAMES WAS MINE UNTIL YOU CAME ALONG WITH YOUR STUPID ROMANTICAL IDEAS AND RUINED IT! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!!!" 

Finished destroying the book she turned on Lily and slapped her with all her might. 

Lily's eyes filled with tears. 

"I didn't give him any ideas," she said, choking back sobs. " Why are you blaming me?" 

"Because," said Violet, "If that wimp hadn't met you he would still be my boyfriend. I would still be happy. But since you came along and brainwashed him I am going to make your life as miserable as mine!" 

She raised her hand to strike again when Madam Pince, the librarian, grabbed her wrist. 

"I will not allow squabbling in my library," she said. "Both of you are going to see the Headmaster now. Come along Ms. Evans." 

She lead them to Professor Dumbledore's office. 

"Have a seat, ladies," he said. Lily sat. Violet stood in clear defiance, arms crossed, face one big scowl.

"Ms.Thompson I said have a seat," repeated Dumbledore. Violet sat. 

"Madam Pince tells me you struck Miss Evans. Is that correct?" 

Violet nodded.

"Why did you do it?" asked Dumbledore. 

"She lost me my boyfriend," said Violet sourly.

"How?" 

"She put stupid ideas about love and fairy tales into his head," said Violet. " She made him break up with me." 

"Is this true, Miss Evans?" 

"I assure you, Professor, that James did it of his own free will. The fight started when she tore up my book. I didn't do anything to her." 

Professor Dumbledore turned his stern gaze on Violet once more. 

"I have warned you before, Miss Thompson, of what would happen if you continued to act this way," he said. "For now you will receive a month's worth of detention. You will also give Miss Evans enough money to buy a new copy of the book you destroyed. You may go now. Miss Evans, stay here for a moment please."

Violet, still scowling, left the office. Lily stayed seated and silent but tears were running down her face for some reason. 

Dumbledore looked at her kindly,   
  
"Miss Evans," he said, " I am afraid that despite the punishment she has been given Miss Thompson will not be as forgiving as I would like her to be. If she ever bothers you again please feel free to come here and talk with me about it. Also, I would like to recommend that you and Mr. Potter start planning a Christmas ball. Perhaps another Masquerade? You may go." 

Lily wiped her face on her sleeve, smiled at Professor Dumbledore, and left the office. 

"Well, well, well," said Dumbledore as she left. "It seems that Cinderella will be going back to the ball." 

A/N: Well that is a very good place to stop. This is eleven pages on Word. I hope you're all happy because this is as long as the chapters will get. __

Before anyone asks, yes Dumbledore knows about the Lady Gryffindor thing. The teachers keep closer watches on romantic issues in the school than most of us think. 

Thanks again for reading this and for all those reviews! Let's try to make it to 200 this time! It would make me so happy! And when I'm happy I type faster so make me happy! (Yes I am bribing you and no I don't care.) Toodles!

--Tiger Lily


	8. Chapter Eight

A Hogwarts Cinderella

Chapter Eight

By: Tiger Lily21

_A/N: Hey! Thanks for all the reviews! I just had to write this chapter for all of you! You guys are, as I've said before, the best! Now, here's the chapter! _

_***************************************************************************************************_

James had taken a wrong turn at some point in his race to the library and found himself down the Charms corridor. By the time he reached the library Lily and Violet were gone. (If you recall they had been taken to Dumbledore's office.) All he could see were the empty cover and the pages from Lily's book, which Violet had destroyed. 

His first reaction was to panic but, remembering that he was not a wimp ( despite what some people, including Lily at sometimes, thought) he sat down at the table and began thinking out loud. 

"Okay, so Lily's not here. And neither is Violet. The book is ripped up and it looks like one that Lily would read. Therefore Violet ripped up Lily's book. But what happened then? " 

He was struck with the thought that perhaps Madam Pince had seen the fight. Trying to stay calm he walked over to her desk. 

"Madam Pince, did you see Lily Evans and Violet Thompson in here earlier?" he asked. 

"Yes I did," declared Madam Pince. "I sent them both up to Professor Dumbledore. Why? Are you worried about one of them? Oh, of course, Miss Thompson is your girlfriend." 

"How did you know?" blurted James, shocked that the librarian even paid attention to school love affairs. 

"We professors know more than you think," replied Madam Pince, almost mysteriously. 

"Well, just to let you know," said James, regaining his composure, " I broke up with her earlier tonight." 

"That's nice," said Madam Pince. "Now get out of here. You are entirely too loud. Go on, out."

"There are two things I will never understand," muttered James. " Girls and teachers." 

James practically ran to Professor Dumbledore's office. He got there just as Lily was stepping off the moving staircase. 

"Well James, you were right. Violet blames me 100%,"she said. 

"You sound happy about that," said James, noting the smile on her face.

"I am," said Lily. "Because she got a month of detention for ripping my book and slapping me. Plus, I thougth of a way for you to find Lady Gryffindor." 

James brightened visibly. 

"Really?" he asked. "What?" 

"What if we arrange another Christmas ball? A masquerade ball just like last time? Lady Gryffindor would probably come." 

"You think so?" asked James, unconsiously sounding like a little kid. 

Lily smiled. "Yes," she said, "Especially if she somehow found out Violet would get it there." 

"Huh?" asked James brilliantly.

"Think about it," said Lily. " She's probably been moping for the past three years because you took Violet instead of her. Wouldn't it be nice if she could see Violet completely humiliated by you at the ball? I'm sure she'd be quite amused." 

"Yeah," said James," It would. And I'd love to get Violet back for what's she's done to my friends and me over the years. This is a perfect idea! Lily, you're a genius!" 

Lily blushed and was about to say something when James, obviously now comprehending the part of her speech on Lady Gryffindor's amusement at Violet getting pranked, said, " Hold on a minute. Lily, how do you know what Lady Gryffindor would think about Violet getting pranked? Do you know her or something?" 

Lily's face turned, if possible, redder. She mumbled, " More than you know." 

"So you know who she is?" asked James excitedly. 

"Uh, yeah," said Lily. "But she made me promise not to tell you. Race you to the common room!" 

WIth that she took off leaving James to race after her as best he could. 

Lily mentally kicked herself. How could she have been so stupid? She'd let another opportunity go by to tell James who she really was. Why oh why had she done it? Did she want to see him humiliate Violet at the ball first? Or was she just too chicken to tell him after three years? 

She arrived in the common room out of breath to find Remus sitting calmly in a chair by the fire. 

"Remus, we have a huge, mega-problem on our hands!" she cried. "I just practically promised James that Lady Gryffindor would be at the Christmas ball we're planning and I just realized that the dress won't fit anymore and Violet has the other shoe! What in the world am I going to do?" 

Remus looked completely calm as he said, " Why not buy another, larger dress and a new pair of shoes?" 

"I don't have that much money!" cried Lily in utter exasperation. 

"Then use the Engorgement Charm and just buy new shoes," said Remus, now obviously annoyed. 

"Oh you're no help!" huffed Lily. 

Just then James came huffing and puffing into the common room. 

"What's all this?" he asked, looking from the red-faced, obviously furious Lily to the calm, bored-looking Remus. 

" I just got mad at Remus for something," said Lily quickly. "By the way, I beat you!" 

James looked puzzled then laughed outright. 

"You have the weirdest sense of humor of anybody I know," said Remus. "Well, except maybe Sirius." 

Then he stood up and headed up to the boys' dormitory. 

"Coming James?" he asked. " It's nearly midnight and we have classes tomorrow. 'Night Lily." 

James looked at his watch, looked at Lily, then looked into the fire. "Ummm..." he said. 

Lily smiled at her friends and said, "Why don't we all go to bed? James, you and I can talk tomorrow during break, okay?" 

Then, before James could say a word she Summoned her things from her room, set up a bed on the nearest couch and lay down. 

" G'night, Lily," yawned James as he followed Remus up to bed. 

He soon fell asleep. But Lily lay awake for hours, thinking about James, the ball, and how Lady Gryffindor could make her appearance with only one shoe and a too-small dress. 

The next day Lily and James made lists of ideas and compared them during break. Lily's looked like this: 

Music: Classical (Vivaldi, Mozart, etc.) 

Food: Cheese, salsa, chips, punch. 

Decorations: Typical Christmas. (Trees, holly, wreathes, mistletoe (?) ) 

Other: Dip Violet in cheese, salsa, and/or punch. 

James's list looked like this: 

Music: The Weird Sisters (if possible) 

Food: Any kind of dessert that involves frosting (and chocolate). 

Decorations: Whatever Lily put down. Only no mistletoe! 

Other: Throw a cake at Violet. 

Of course, when they compared lists they had some explaining to do.Lily had no clue who The Wierd Sisters were and James didn't know any of the composers she'd named. But after a few explanations and several long discussions they finally came up with this list. 

A/N: Okay, I want to get you guys involved in this story some more so please tell me the following in your review: 

What music should they have? (Classical or Wierd Sisters?)

What food? (Lily's list, James's or a combination of both?) 

What prank should they play on Violet? (By the way I'm only putting that in because I don't want to kill off Violet but I want her to get what's coming to her.) 

So, start reviewing and answer the questions. I will tally up the results and put the list at the beginning of the next chapter. 

Toodles! 

-- Tiger Lily


	9. Chapter Nine

A Hogwarts Cinderella  
  
Chapter 9  
  
By: Tiger Lily21  
  
A/N: Hey, first of all, thanks to all you voters out there. You really did a lot for the story. Unfortunately none of you had the same idea for what to do to Violet so I have to come up with my own idea. Don't worry, I already have one and it's really, really good! But you have to wait until the chapter with the ball to find out what it is! (Hee-hee, I'm so evil!) But anyways, here is the long awaited chapter nine! Read on! **************************************************************************** **************** Of course, when they compared lists they had some explaining to do. Lily had no clue who The Weird Sisters were and James didn't know any of the composers she'd named. But after a few explanations and several long discussions they finally came up with this list.  
  
Music: Weird Sisters playing classical music (if possible) Food: Chips, Cheese, and Desserts Decorations: Typical Christmas, no mistletoe Prank: To be decided at a future time  
  
This worked for both of them. The prank they left for a later time because Dumbledore had not yet approved the list (sans, that is without, the prank). James agreed to bring the list to the headmaster personally partially because he wanted to see the office again and partially because he had something he wanted to discuss with Dumbledore, something he felt he couldn't discuss with Lily.  
  
So, the next day, which happened to be Sunday, James headed for the gargoyle entrance to the staircase, which would take him to the headmaster's office. He gave the password (Chocolate Frog) and climbed onto the moving staircase, list in hand. Once at the door to the office James listened to see if Dumbledore had a visitor. That didn't appear to be the case so he knocked and entered when bidden to do so. "Good morning, James," said Dumbledore pleasantly. "Please sit down. I understand you have a list for me involving the Christmas ball?" James was taken aback. How had Dumbledore known? Dumbstruck he pushed the list across the desk and waited while Dumbledore read it. "Very good, very good indeed," said Dumbledore. "I'll have to look into booking the Weird Sisters though. Why don't I get back to you on that at a future date? You may go now, James. That is, unless you have something else you would like to discuss with me?" James was again struck dumb by Dumbledore's apparent power to read minds. However he recovered himself and said, " Uh, yes sir. You see it's about Lily. First off, she can't sleep in her dormitory anymore. Violet won't let her in. I was hoping you could deal with the situation since Lily won't take my bed." Dumbledore smiled. "I will do my best. Is there anything else?"  
"Yes. I also wondered if you could, um, help me with a problem. I've been in love with Lady Gryffindor since I met her at the ball three years ago. Now I've met Lily and I don't know how I feel about her. And I'm wondering whom the last girl who didn't get to try on the shoe that day was. I never knew her name. She was just Remus's red-haired friend and she seems to have vanished off the face of the earth! You see? I'm all mixed up about all these girls!"  
James finished his schpeel and put his head down on the desk in frustration. Dumbledore looked kindly at the poor, mixed-up teenager who was supposed to be the leader of the students. Right now he seemed like a child, crying in frustration after not being able to put together a puzzle. The headmaster took pity on the poor boy.  
"James," he said, " I cannot help you on this puzzle that is your lovelife. But, if you think about, I think you can solve it. This riddle may help. 'One is a friend with a secret. Two are hidden beneath your nose. Three are one. All are your love.' Figure it out."  
James looked up. "Sirius is right," he muttered." You are off your rocker! But thanks anyways, sir. I just hope I don't make another mistake. I was so stupid to think Violet of all people was Lady Gryffindor! Why didn't I listen to what my heart said? Lily's right. I am hopeless."  
He left the office still muttering. Dumbledore sighed. It was going to be a while before James even solved part of the riddle. Oh well. There was nothing he could do but watch and wait. Oh, and hope too. Now, to get to work on the problem of Miss Evans and her rooming arrangements.  
  
A/N: Well, is that enough for you? Should I stop here? (Crowd of readers cries, " NOOOO! And don't leave a big empty spot either, evil writer!") Okay, no stopping. No big empty spot. Just more story. Now will you shut up? (No, just kidding. But please, read on. I won't pop in again until the real end of the chapter. Toodles!) **************************************************************************** ****************  
"So, how did it go?" asked Lily when James returned.  
"Good," said James. "He'll try to get the Weird Sisters for us."  
"It must have taken you a while to convince him. You've been gone nearly half an hour."  
James blushed. "Oh, sorry about that. But I also took care of your bed issue. Dumbledore said he'll work on getting you off the couch."  
Lily smiled at him. " James, you sweetheart!" she cried. "You didn't have to do that for me! Thank you so much!"  
"That's what friends are for," said James, turning away to try and hide his now extremely red face.  
"I wish we were more than friends," thought Lily.  
"I wish that now you would help me with this riddle," James thought. " That's what friends are for."  
But before James could tell Lily about the riddle and before she could do anything who should come waltzing down the stairs but Violet.  
" Hello James," she said in a sickly sweet voice. " I hope you don't mind leaving for a moment. I have something private to discuss with Lily here. "  
Lily mouthed, "Go, I'll be fine," at James. He mouthed back, " Yell if you need me," and left, scowling and still very red.  
The moment he was gone Violet demanded, " Give me the dress!"  
"What dress?" asked Lily innocently.  
"The Lady Gryffindor dress, idiot!" snapped Violet. "Give it here!"  
"And what if I don't?" asked Lily.  
" Let's not discuss that," said Violet. "Just give. me. the dress." She spoke slowly, sounding out every syllable as if Lily were dumb enough to need to hear it that slowly.  
" N.O. spells. no," said Lily just as slowly. "And that is my answer to you."  
Violet's face became as red as her hair. She shrieked in fury. " ACCIO DRESS!" she yelled, pointing her wand at Lily's trunk. The Lady Gryffindor dress flew out of it and into her hands. She repeated the spell for the other shoe, which she also got. Lily watched this passively as a rather cruel thought grew in her head. The dress wouldn't even fit skinny Violet anymore. And Violet, she knew, couldn't perform the Engorgement Charm to save her life. This could be almost exactly the kind of test she'd need for James at the ball. Would he pick the girl in the original dress or the girl who his heart told him was his love? Lily or Violet? Hmm.  
  
A/N: Well, this is a good stopping place so that is the end of chapter nine. I hope you liked it and I'm sorry if it was too short for some of you. Tough beanie-weanies. Now review, please, and make me happy so I can write chapter ten before November 15th when I want to get it out. I have a four-day weekend this week so I might get it out to you sooner that I thought I could. Toodles!  
  
-- Tiger Lily21 P.S. Check me out at Fictionpress.net! My pen name is Silver Song21. I don't have much up there right now but I think you'll like what I do have. Toodles for real! 


	10. Chapter Ten

A Hogwarts Cinderella

By: Tiger Lily21

Chapter Ten

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Author's Note: Hey guys! This is chapter ten, making this the longest fic I've ever written. And I have over 300 reviews, making this the most popular fic I've ever written. All I can say is thanks so much to all you guys who have been with me since the beginning and those of you who joined later on. I owe 95% of this fic to you guys because it is your reviews that stop me from just throwing the fic out. 2% goes to my muse, Lily, and 1% to J.K. Rowling for making the characters. (She gets the least because of what she did in OOTP. I really don't like the chapter **Snape's Worst Memory**. ) 

Okay, enough from me. You guys want the fic. So, here you go!

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As December grew closer the days and nights grew colder. Students began wearing sweaters even ion the classrooms. On November 27th it was so cold it began to snow lightly. Professor Dumbledore announced the masquerade that same day.

"On Christmas night we will have a masquerade ball for students in fourth year and above. Younger students would be advised to spend their holidays at home. That is, unless you can get a date with an older student in which case you will undoubtedly wish to stay. If you have any questions please ask our Head Boy and Girl, James Potter and Lily Evans. They are in charge of planning the entire ball. Thank you." 

As soon as he finished a crowd of students gathered around Lily and James.

"Do we have to wear a costume?"

"Is there a dress code?"

" If we're fourth year or above do we _have _to have a date?"

"What decorations are you going to have?"

Lily covered her ears. James, who had been pondering Dumbledore's 

riddle, looked up at the many students and yelled, "QUIET!!!!"

There was immediately complete silence in the Great Hall.

"Cool, it worked," James whispered to Lily. She giggled then stood up to speak.

"Thank you James," she said. "Now, to answer most of your questions, I hope, the rules of this ball are very specific. You must have a costume including a mask. But you don't need a date unless you are younger than fourth year. The decorations, food, and music are going to be a surprise. Oh, and one more thing. If you attended the ball three years ago you can't wear the same costume you wore that time. You have to be someone or something different."

She sat down and smiled at James. He smiled back but then her last words hit him like a ton of bricks. He tapped her on the shoulder.

"What did you mean, no one can wear the same costume as last time?" he asked.

Lily's smile became mysterious. "I'll tell you later," she whispered. 

"Later" turned out to be an hour after dinner. Lily and James sat in a corner of the common room.

"I said that no one could wear the same costume so you'll know who Lady Gryffindor isn't," said Lily. "If you see a girl in a dress like that you'll know it isn't Lady Gryffindor." 

"But then how will I know who the real one is?" asked James, bewildered.

Lily smiled another mysterious smile. "Look with _this_," she pointed at his heart, " not with these." Her finger was pointing at his eyes.

"And how exactly do I do that?" asked James. 

Now he was annoyed. 

"Don't worry," said Lily, " you'll know when the time comes, I promise." 

With that she stood and went up to her dormitory. 

" So, what will you do now, Cinderella?" 

Violet was sitting on her bed, smirking at Lily.

"Violet, you have just given me that answer. But if you think I'll tell you, you are dead wrong." 

Then Lily put on her nightgown and climbed into bed, a great idea forming in her mind. As she fell asleep she was happier than she had been for a long time. This costume wouldn't require any magic. Just a bit of imagination and lots of soot. 

********************************************************************************************

James, in his own dormitory, wasn't so happy. He still hadn't solved the riddle and now he didn't even know what Lady Gryffindor's costume would be. 

"One is a friend with a secret.

Two are hidden beneath your nose.

Three are one.

All are your love."

"Maybe if I solve it backwards," thought James. 

He spoke the last line out loud. "All are your love."

"First sign of madness, talking to yourself about nonsense." 

Sirius stood in the doorway, grinning.

James looked up at his friend and blushed.

"I'm not going mad!" he muttered.

"Sure you're not," laughed Sirius. "That's why you were muttering about 'all are your love'. Has that Lily girl pushed you over the edge?"

"Hey! Don't talk about Lily like that! She's been more help than you ever were so just shut up!" 

Sirius's expression didn't change. He was still grinning. He came over and sat on the edge of James's bed.

"Yep, I was right. You like her, don't you?"

"No, I…"

"Don't say you love Lady Gryffindor," said Sirius. He barreled on. " I know that. But tell me something. Wouldn't it be better to love a _real _girl instead of one who you still aren't sure even exists?"

James didn't say a word. But Sirius's question bothered him. How did he know Lady Gryffindor was real?

"Because Lily says she is," he thought. " And Lily wouldn't lie to me."

"But what if she doesn't love you the way you love her?" asked an annoying little voice. 

"She does," James thought at the voice. "I know she does. She kissed me!"

"How do you know that was her?" asked the voice.

"My heart says it was," he told the voice.

Another voice, rather like Lily's, said, " Look with your heart, not with your eyes."

"I am," thought James. " I know how now. Thanks, Lily." 

Unintentionally he said this last part out loud. 

"There you go again, talking nonsense," said Sirius. " I'm telling you Prongs, you're going mad."

"No I'm not," said James in a slow voice. "I think I'm more sane than I ever was before."

And with that he closed his eyes and let sleep claim him. As it did an image filled his mind. A girl with red hair stood in a corner with Remus. It wasn't Lily. Or was it? He couldn't tell. Maybe it was "Remus's red-haired friend". Or… were they the same girl? 

James sat straight up in bed. 

"Hey Padfoot?" 

"Yeah?" asked Sirius from his own bed.

"Whatever happened to Moony's red-haired friend?"

Remus came in just then and answered the question. 

"James, that girl you're talking about is Lily."

__

A/N: And that's where we stop. So, I made things a little harder on James. Lily won't be in the same costume. But that makes it easier for her and for James since Violet has the dress. This means Lily doesn't have to get a new dress, which would be more than she could afford, and that James will know Violet isn't Lady Gryffindor. Plus James has part of that riddle solved, even if he doesn't know it yet. 

I'm only planning a few more chapters for this fic but for certain reasons (coughJameswon'tproposeinthiscough) there will be a sequel. (All readers cheer.) Now I have another review bribe for you guys. (Even though you don't need one.) The readers here are pretty much omniscient. Do you know the answer to James's riddle? Look back in the fic if you don't and send the answer in a review. Or, if that's too lame, tell me what you think Lily's new costume will be. There are hints in this chapter. 

Well, that's all for now! Review and remember God made you special and He loves you very much! (**Veggie Tales reference :-P) **Toodles! 

--Tiger Lily


	11. Chapter Eleven

A Hogwarts Cinderella

By: Tiger Lily21

Chapter Eleven

_A/N: Finally, the chapter you've all been waiting for. I'm sorry I took so long to get it up but I wanted to wait until all the reviews stopped coming plus I had Writer's Block and my sister (Silver Tiger279 or something like that) lost the notebook I wrote the chapter in. But I found it, you all stopped reviewing, and my Muse returned so I'm going to stop babbling now and let you read. Enjoy!_

_********************_

            The next two weeks passed quickly. After Remus revealed that Lily was also "Remus's red-haired friend (RR-HF)" the rest of the riddle fell into place James's notes were as follows:

_One is a friend with a secret. (Lily because she is also RR-HF)_

_Two are beneath your nose. (RR-HF and Lady Gryffindor)_

_Three are one. ( Lily, RR-HF, and Lady Gryffindor are the same person, a.k.a. Lily.)_

_All are your love. ( I love Lady Gryffindor so therefore I love Lily.)_

The answer to the riddle was Lily. Every line applied to her. She _was _Lady Gryffindor. He loved her. 

(_A/N: At this point let's have a round of applause for James before the story moves on. Yeeaah!!!)_

That was what the riddle said. And of course the riddle, like many other things, was right. But James, being male and therefore possessing male stupidity, didn't get it. That Lily was the person he'd loved for the past three years simply would not penetrate his brain. And so for another week he was puzzled.

Lily, on the other hand, was having a grand two weeks. She had finished most of her costume, she had outsmarted Violet, and if she played her cards right she would live happily ever after.

By the time the ball was a week away Lily, who had been floating on the happily ever after cloud, fell back to earth with a bump.

"Lily, how do you know when you're in love with the right person?" asked James.

"I don't know," she replied dreamily. "When your heart tells you so."

"What if your heart said so but you didn't understand why?"

"James, what are you asking?" 

"How can you tell who you really love if your heart says two girls but it also says they're the same person and you don't get it?" 

BUMP. She landed, hard.

"Believe me, James," said Lily quietly, " If you let go of the matter and leave it to your heart you'll be much happier. Now please, leave me alone. I have love matters of my own to deal with."

"Some help you are," grumbled James.

He trudged upstairs.

"Remus, is Lily in love with someone?"

"Yes."

"Who?"

"I can't tell you," said Remus, concentrating for a moment on the card castle he was building with Exploding Snape cards. (A_/N: No that isn't a typo.__ These cards have a picture of Snape on them and they act just like Exploding Snap cards. Tee-hee!) _

"But she's loved him longer than you've loved Lady Gryffindor. She's had a hard time of it too. You see, this guy is so thick sometimes he doesn't realize how much she loves him or how much he loves her back. Plus she's been keeping a secret from him for the past three years. I think she's hoping the ball will magically make everything all right but we both know it won't. She needs his help to live happily ever after."

"That guy is the biggest dolt in the school if he can't see how special Lily is," said James angrily.

"Don't be too hard on yourself James," said Remus with a smile. 

And then it all finally clicked. _Lily_ was Lady Gryffindor._Lily_was in love with him and he was in love with her. Lily needed him to give her happily ever after because he had taken it away.

**_Three girls stood in a line. One, whose name James didn't know, tried to get to the front of the line but was pushed back. The shoe fit Rose Thompson's foot._**

**_"I'm going out with Gilderoy Lockhart!" she giggled._**

**_The shoe fit her sister, Violet._**

**_"Violet Thompson, will you be my girlfriend?" _**

**_"Of course, Jamesie!"_****__**

**_The next time he looked up the third girl was gone._**

**_**********_**

**_A warm mouth made contact with his own and a tingling sensation shot through him as someone kissed him. Then it was gone. _**

**_"Who kissed me?" he asked._**

**_**********_**

**_"Do you know Lady Gryffindor?"_**

**_"Uh, yeah," said Lily. "But she made me promise not to tell you. Race you to the common room."_**

**_**********_**

**_Lily smiled another mysterious smile. "Look with this," she pointed at his heart, " not with these." Her finger was pointing at his eyes._**

**_**********_**

**_"Believe me, James," said Lily quietly, " If you let go of the matter and leave it to your heart you'll be much happier."_**

**_**********_**

Back in the present James blinked as memory after memory of Lily flashed though his mind.

"I love you, Lily Evans," he whispered. 

BOOM! Remus's card castle fell down, singeing his eyebrows.

**********

Lily was still on the couch in the common room, her notebook open on her lap, quill scribbling furiously.

**_"Alaura!_****_ You came back! "_**

**_It was Jonathon. He ran to her but she put out her hand to stop him._**

**_"I had to come back," she said, "Because I love you. If you love me too, despite my dirty clothes and my smudged face, then tell me and I'll never leave again. But if it was the gown and the jewels you fell in love with that night at the palace, tell me and I will never darken your doorway again."_**

**_But he didn't have to answer. She could see it in his eyes.  He loved her for who she was. He always had. And suddenly she was in his arms. Their first kiss had been bliss. This one left that one choking in the dust._**

**_A month later, Prince Jonathon and Alaura were married.  Evonna and her brood were not invited but had to celebrate with the townsfolk. In the years to come Alaura would become known as Queen Alaura the Brave and Jonathon, King Jonathon the Kind. As she had promised, Alaura never left him again. And so they lived happily ever after._**

The notebook closed. She had done it. She had completed a story. She had an idea for another one. Her characters would live happily ever after.

"But will I?" she wondered. 

"Not unless James gets his act together and I doubt he will," said a voice in her head. 

"Of course, but only if you help James," said another voice in her heart. 

She listened to her heart. Perhaps she would let James read her story. Besides, she was dedicating it to him. Maybe the story of Prince Jonathon and Alaura would help James figure out who she really was and what he felt for her. 

Lily headed for bed, determined to give James the story first thing in the morning, in hopes it would help. What she didn't know was that he didn't need her help. He had already figured it out. She also didn't know that in her own dormitory Violet was plotting revenge and conquest.

_                        A/N: And that's where I'm going to stop. I hope you liked it! Next chapter, the ball! By the way, I changed the name of the female character in Lily's story because the girl in my novel is named Ariella Churchill and her prince is NOT named Jonathon. His name is James. It's on ff.net and it's another Cinderella story. Read it! Please?_

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	12. Chapter Twelve

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A Hogwarts Cinderella

By: Tiger Lily21

Chapter Twelve

A/N: Merry Christmas guys! This is your present. I hope you like it! Toodles!

The day of the ball finally came and everyone had a severe case of nerves. Both Lily and James were jumpy if anyone came up behind them or talked unexpectedly. Lily broke several ornaments while she and James were decorating the trees in the Great Hall because Sirius had decided it would be fun to go up behind her and scream, " POTATO!" in her ear.

By six o'clock every girl in Gryffindor Tower, including Lily, was getting dressed for the ball at seven. Lily's costume was fairly simple. An old blue dress had been covered in ashes from the fire in the common room. A rag of the same material had received the same treatment and she had a small container with more ashes for her face. She also had a broom and a dirty (ashes again) blue mask. When she was completely ready she made a perfect Cinderella.

Violet had certainly changed the Lady Gryffindor dress. It was shorter now and had many more ruffles and considerably more lace. On her neck Violet wore a large amount of frippery, that is, tacky jewelry. A tiara of the same style balanced on her head. Her mask was covered in fake rhinestones. If Lily hadn't been hoping James could tell the difference between Violet and Lady Gryffindor (or rather, Cinderella) she still wouldn't have been worried. Violet was certainly not Lady Gryffindor, with or without the dress.

Rose was a flower fairy. She was pink from head to toe and had a few too many fake roses in her hair. Lily thought she looked like a piece of bubblegum in a rosebed but she kept her thoughts to herself. Violet didn't.

"You look like a piece of Drooble's gum in a garden," she said. "And Lily, you look like you fell in a fireplace."

"And you, Violet, look like a cross between Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West," said Lily.

Violet stormed out of the dormitory. Rose smiled at Lily.   
"Good luck tonight," she said." I hope your fairy godmother comes to change those rags into a pretty dress!"

"Thanks Rose but that won't happen," Lily said. "Cinderella is going to the ball as is."

"You'll never find a boyfriend," muttered Rose.

She left the dormitory. Lily waited until she heard Remus's signal, a shrill whistle, then came down the stairs to find her friend waiting there for her. He looked rather pale and drawn but there had recently been a full moon so this was no surprise.

"Good luck, Cinderella."

Lily smiled. 

"Thanks, Remus," she said. "I'd hug you but you'll get all dirty."

" See you after the ball, Lily. And remember, be yourself!"

As Lily entered the Great Hall she couldn't believe her eyes. Even if she had decorated the hall herself it still looked as magical as it had three years ago. She spotted Violet whirling around with Snape. They both looked absolutely disgusted at each other's presence. Rose was waltzing with Gilderoy Lockhart, her pink dress swishing around behind her. 

"She looks rather pretty in that dress actually," thought Lily.

She tore her gaze away from Rose to continue searching for the one person she wanted to see, James.

At last she spotted him, sitting in a corner by himself. As unobtrusively as she could she made her way over to him.

He wore a costume very similar to the one he had worn three years ago. However this one was black with silver trim. A cloak of the same colors was on his shoulders and he had a sad look on his face. Their eyes met and he smiled at her and came over.

"Why are you wearing black, sir?" asked Lily in a mock-formal tone.

The smile faded from James's face although it remained in his eyes as he said, "Because I have lost my true love."

"Really?" asked Lily. " Who was she?"

"A lovely young lady like yourself who loved fairy tales and writing and who knew how to make me laugh!" declared James. "But I made a stupid mistake and for three years I didn't try to do anything about it."

They had drifted almost unknowingly over to a table. Lily sat down as James continued.

"Then this year I met another lovely girl who taught me, among other things, to look with my heart and to never give up on my dream girl. And then, with some help from a friend and our own headmaster, I figured out that these two girls were one and the same."

Lily gasped. He had figured it out! 

"And so what will you do now?" she asked.

"I want to tell her that I'm sorry for being such a thick-headed fool. I want to see her again and dance like we did at the last ball. And most of all I want her to know I love her. But enough about me. Who are you, Cinderella?"

Tears were threatening to spill over Lily's mask. She closed her eyes for a moment, begging them to leave. Then she looked at James.

"A friend whose identity you'll have to guess while we dance!" she cried.

The Weird Sisters were playing "Spring" from Vivaldi's _The Four Seasons_. Lily and James whirled through the hall, laughing but not saying a word. Both were thinking. 

Lily was thinking, " Should I tell him or should I let him guess?" and generally playing "Eenie-meenie-minie-mo" with the decision.

James's thoughts were a jumbled mess of, "Who is this girl?" "Where's Lily?" and "If this is Lily then how do I tell her how I feel without looking dumb?"

At last the song ended and they found themselves right back at their original table. 

"I love that song!" declared Lily. 

She was breathing heavily and her cheeks were flushed pink beneath the soot but her eyes were dancing.

" It sounds like something Cinderella and her prince would have danced to at their ball," ventured James, in an attempt to find out if this was Lily or not.

"Oh no!" cried Lily. "I don't think that at all! Cinderella and her prince danced to something slow and light and sweet. Something that sounded like fairies dancing in the moonlight!"

As if on cue (because this is what I think of when I hear this piece) the musicians struck up Tchaicovsky's "Dance of the Flowers" from _The Nutcracker._

"You mean like this?" asked James.

"Exactly!" declared Lily. "Now let's pretend you are the prince and I am Cinderella and dance just as they must have done in the fairy tale!"

And somehow, just by the way she said that, James was pretty sure this girl was Lily Evans.

They moved slowly onto the dance floor and if Cinderella and her prince had been at this particular ball they would have been jealous of the lovely couple.

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A/N: Gosh wouldn't this be a great place to stop? Right at the exciting part! I know you guys all love it when I do that!

Okay, so I can't be that mean! Here's more of the ball!  
Violet watched from her place at a table with Severus Snape. Seeing Lily and James so happy made her blood boil. It was time to put her plan into action!

"Severus, let's dance again!" she said.

Reluctantly Snape took her hand and led her onto the dance floor.

"Is it time yet?" he asked.

"Yes," hissed Violet. "Now just go with the plan and don't mess up!"

"Don't boss me around, Thompson! I'm only doing this to get back at Potter for everything he's done to me! I'm not stupid, you know!"

Violet hit him on the head. 

"Shut up!" she growled. "Or you'll be next on my list!"

Snape shut up. 

They were close enough to Lily and James now that all Violet had to do was reach out her hand and tug to remove Lily's mask, which is exactly what she did.

Lily screamed and covered her face. She ran but Snape grabbed her, holding her in such a way that she had to look at James.

To her utmost surprise James began laughing.

"Thank you, Violet," he said. "For revealing the identity of that lovely lady. But you know, I was planning on being polite and asking her to remove her mask."

Violet gritted her teeth.

"Do you know who this is, Potter?" she asked. "This is the girl who stole your heart three years ago by disguising herself and coming to the ball. Then she lied to you. And worst of all she had the insolence to show up again tonight, intending to fool you again! She is a snake!"

James's face was stone hard and his voice was stone cold.

"Violet, I know perfectly well what Lily did, " he said. " She came to a school function, which was perfectly all right. She met me and I fell in love with her because she was so beautiful and wonderful. Then you tricked me into thinking it had been you I'd danced with and for two years I was miserable with you. Then I met Lily. I didn't know she was the girl I'd met at the ball. She helped me realize that you were wrong and then she helped me figure out who the real girl was. Tonight she came again, I suspect, to dance with me one last time before she completely gave up. I was being so thick that I can understand why. So tell me, Violet, who's the real snake? Is it you or is it Lily?"

Violet screamed in rage and rushed at Lily, hand raised to slap her.

James ran too and caught her before she reached Lily. Then he dragged her, still screaming, to the refreshment table and proceeded to dunk her in cheese, salsa, and punch.   
"How dare you?" screamed Violet, whipping her head out of the punch bowl and showering everyone near her with glop. 

Meanwhile Lily had broken away from Snape and was running out of the hall.

"Sorry Violet, I can't answer that right now," said James quickly. "I have to go catch Cinderella."

He took off after Lily.

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A/N: Okay guys, I'm really sorry but I don't want this fic to end yet so I'm stopping the chapter here, for real this time. The next chapter will probably be very short and describe what happens when James catches Lily and then… the epilogue. If I said there would be a sequel (I don't remember. Did I?) there will be, as soon as I get an idea for it. If anyone has ideas please email them to me. I would be eternally grateful. Merry Christmas! Toodles!

--Tiger Lily


	13. Chapter Thirteen

A Hogwarts Cinderella

Ch. 13

By: Tiger Lily21

           Lily ran until she reached the library. She sank down in a chair, put her head down on a table and sobbed. Her dreams were all coming true. It hadn't been the dress or the jewels or her beauty. James loved her because of who she was and she loved him. 

            "Lily, what are you doing in here?"

            She looked up, half expecting to see James. But it wasn't James. It was Remus. 

            "I ran away again," she said. "I don't know why. Violet pulled off my mask and James started announcing to everyone that he loved me and I just ran."

            "Cinderella didn't run from the prince when he told her that," said Remus. "Her fairy tale ended with 'happily ever after'. Don't you want that?"

            "Yes, well Cinderella danced in glass shoes and worked like a slave for her stepfamily.  This hasn't been a classic Cinderella story since the moment James put the slipper on the wrong girl.  We're writing our own story and we're not going to end it with 'happily ever after'. We're going to go on and live through the good and the bad. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go find James."

            As she left the library Remus smiled.  Maybe this wasn't going to be a Cinderella story after all.  But then again, who said it was in the first place?

**********

              
            James ran up staircase after staircase, from floor to floor, desperately trying to find Lily. At last he saw her coming his way down the Charms corridor.

            "Lily!" he called. "Come here please!"

             They met near an empty classroom. He noticed her tearstained cheeks and touched them lightly.

            "Why were you crying?" he asked. "Did I upset you? If I did, I'm very sorry."

            Lily blushed slightly. He had never touched her like this before. 

            "I was upset.  I don't know why.  I guess all the tears I've wanted to let out these past three years or so just spilled out.  But I'm better now and I want to tell you something.  I love you, James, and I would be honored if you would be my boyfriend."

            James, laughing with delight, picked her up and spun her around. When he set her down they kissed, a long, passionate kiss that said more than any words could. 

            When they broke apart they headed back to the Great Hall.  To their astonishment Violet no longer had cheese, salsa, and punch dripping from her hair. In fact she had no hair at all. She was completely bald. 

"What happened here?" asked James in surprise.

 A young man in a jester's costume stepped forward.

 "When you left she was screaming for someone to 'fix her hair'," he said. "I couldn't remember the cleaning spell so I just vanished it."

 "Put it back!" yelled Violet.

 "Oh but Vi you look better that way," said Lily. 

"At least now you can wear that old wig you have," quipped Rose.

 "Oh a wig?" asked Sirius, who was the jester. "What kind? Is it a clown wig?" 

"Humph," snorted Violet.

 She stomped out of the hall but tripped over her own feet and lay spread- eagled on the floor. The hall erupted with laughter. James put his arm around Lily.

 "And so Cinderella and her prince lived happily ever after," he said.

 Lily smiled. "Well, until Violet's hair grows back at least," she said.

Well, I have to tell you, Violet's hair did grow back and they didn't live 'happily ever after' after that. You see, as Lily said, this was not a normal Cinderella story.  It was a Hogwarts Cinderella story and at Hogwarts or in life in general, nothing is ever normal. But that's a good thing. Isn't it?  
  
A/N: The last thing James says is from one of my favorite "out-of-the-ordinary" Cinderella stories, _Ever After_. I hope you all enjoyed this story. Oh, who am I kidding, of course you did! There are 550 reviews! Thanks so much for sticking with me, even though I put off things so much. There is a sequel up now, _Happily Ever After_, and I will be adding more shortly.  Please review this chapter and the first chapter of the sequel. It would make me happy and get you another chapter of the sequel! (If you think I'm bribing you, you are absolutely right.) Toodles!

--Tiger Lily  
  



	14. Epilogue

A Hogwarts Cinderella 

**By: Tiger Lily21**

**Epilogue: Happily Ever After**

**A/N: I got tired of being stuck on the sequel so this is the epilogue and the end of this story. Please forgive me any of you who liked the sequel. Somehow, I don't think I should have even started that sequel. It stank. But, never fear! I am working on a sequel and a prequel for Firebird (in addition to finishing it) so you shall see my sequel powers then! And now, without further ado, the epilogue.**

Two Years Later 

_A Small Park Near Lily's House_

Lily and James strolled through the park, not saying a word. Lily was enjoying the beauty of the day and the joy she always felt when she was with James. Violet's hair had grown back but, after Sirius and Remus put a full-body bind on her and threatened to hex her to bits if she didn't leave Lily and James alone, she hadn't bothered them. Now they were living out their fairy tale ending, just the way they should.

James, on the other hand, was nervous. There was something he had to do that day and he wasn't entirely sure how to do it. It had to be at the right time and in the right place. He fingered the little box in his pocket.

"Uh, Lily, can I ask you something?"

Lily smiled. "Of course, James! Ask away!"

He let go of her hand and, since it seemed the right thing to do, got down on one knee.

"Lily, Princess Lily, you know that I love you more than anything in the world, right?"

"Right…"

"Well, I…Lily, can I have one of your shoes?"

Lily raised her eyebrows. "One of my shoes? James, are you trying to make a point here?"

"Yes! Can I please, please have one of your shoes?"

Lily rolled her eyes but slipped off one of her white tennis shoes and handed it to him. He looked it up and down then slipped it back on her foot.

"Lily Cinderella, you've made these last three years a fairy tale. I think it's time we really had a happy ending. So, will you do me the honor of marrying me?"

He handed her the box. She opened it and revealed a beautiful diamond ring.

"Oh James!" she cried, flinging her arms around her neck. "I love you!"

"I guess that means yes," said James.

Lily just smiled and kissed him. And that, above all, meant yes.

**The End! (For Real!)**


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